The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has warned content creators against taking photographs or recording videos of unsuspecting members of the public and sharing them on social media without their consent.
The commission gave the warning on Friday in a statement issued by Mr Babatunde Bamigboye, Head of Legal, Enforcement and Regulations, in Abuja.
Bamigboye said such actions violate citizens’ rights to informational self-determination as guaranteed under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA).
According to him, the commission’s attention has been drawn to the activities of individuals who take pictures or record video footage of unsuspecting members of the public and share them online for entertainment purposes.
Bamigboye cited the case of a content creator who reportedly stood by roadsides in Lagos to create a reality show using footage of unsuspecting members of the public.
The commission said processing people’s images in such circumstances requires their consent unless the creator can justify the action under other lawful bases of data processing.
He said preliminary investigations showed that such wilful invasion of citizens’ privacy neither serves a public interest nor a legitimate purpose.
“In any event, the data subjects involved have no expectation that their images will be captured and shared with the whole world by an unknown individual,” Bamigboye said.
He quoted Dr Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner of NDPC, as directing social media platform owners to strengthen enforcement of their community guidelines.
The platforms, he said, include TikTok, X and services owned by Meta.
He said the directive aims to prevent harm to individuals through unlawful and unfair processing of personal data.
NDPC warned that any platform owner that fails to address such harms promptly could face sanctions under the NDPA.
“For the avoidance of doubt, where a platform owner fails or neglects to act timeously in addressing harms, the Commission will not hesitate to impose appropriate sanctions under the NDPA.
“More importantly, individual content creators are accountable for their acts and omissions and may be liable to criminal prosecution for violating the privacy rights of citizens and other data subjects in Nigeria,” Bamigboye said.
